The Natural Stone Show

This is the showcase event for the UK Stone industry. The 10th edition returns in its usual two year cycle to London's premier exhibition venue, ExCeL, London in April 2013.

The Natural Stone Show s the only UK event to focus exclusively on natural stone and directly related products and services.

2011's Natural Stone Show was a great success. As always, Stone Federation members' took exhibition space around the Stone Federation Village which formed the centrepiece.

Members were invited to have refreshments, including tea and coffee in a seated area where they could meet clients from their stands. Many of the exhibiting members reported that they had enjoyed the show and had some very fruitful enquiries.

The Federation provided training and technical advisors to give information to members and their visitors. Stone Federation had a pleasing number of enquiries for membership at the show.

The Building Crafts College provided a live demonstration with students working on stone and this invited a lot of interest as a focal point. The Stone in the City CPD seminar took place on the Wednesday morning with delegates ranging from architects to surveyors and clients to students. The speakers were introduced by the Stone Federation Outgoing President, Alex Stables, who also gave a talk on making the right choice of stone for interiors. Dr Richard Harris from Sandberg Consulting Engineers spoke about the implications of the new BS 8298.

Dr Tim Yates provided some simple pointers to ensure that suitable stone is chosen and used in the most appropriate way. The morning session ended with Mike Eden of Geomaterials Research Services who spoke about high powered stone evaluation.

On the Wednesday evening, the Federation held its second Network and Nibbles event where members and their guests enjoyed a finger buffet and drinks whilst networking in the comfortable surroundings of the bar.